My research is about the management of freshwater environments under climate variability and change. This includes reconstruction of drought and flood indices to assess the severity of recent extreme events (http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/lwt/#Fluvial_flood_indices_for_British) or detailed monitoring of river temperatures for ecological purposes (http://www.luten.org.uk/home). Time spent in the water industry, government, and consultancy has given me a very practical and pragmatic approach to this work.

Following secondments to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado I co-developed the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM). This freely available climate scenario tool has underpinned many climate change impact assessments including for water supplies, flood risk (fluvial and tidal surge), air quality and urban heat island intensity in countries as varied as Canada, China, Morocco, Tajikistan and Yemen.

My latest research is exploring smarter approaches to climate risk assessment and decision making under deep uncertainty about the future climate. This shifts the focus onto better understanding then managing the climate vulnerability of human and natural systems. Ongoing projects include seasonal river flow forecasting for hydropower plants in Central Asia, modelling urban water and sanitation hazards in East Africa, and strategies for keeping rivers cool in the UK.

My teaching examines the relationship between the climate system and society.

Current postgraduate research students

Simon Parry: Drought termination in the UK: Mechanisms and modelling for improved management.

Jenny Armstrong: Evaluating the meaning of successful climate adaptation in the neighbourhood of new nuclear build.

Chanita Duangyiwa: Combined impacts of climate change and land subsidence on flood risks in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.